Music
The Weeknd Stirs Up Anticipation For His Super Bowl Halftime Show In A New Pepsi Commercial
Pepsi also revealed they won’t have any ads during the big game this year and will instead ‘double down’ on the halftime show. …
While The Weeknd was understandably peeved about not securing any Grammy nominations for this year, he’s getting ready to do something that no other Grammy nominee will do in 2021: headline the Super Bowl halftime show. The big game is set to go down on February 7, and ahead of then, The Weeknd has teamed with Pepsi (the sponsor of the halftime show) for a new ad to get fans hyped about the performance.
The 60-second spot shows people at home and in various other everyday environments singing along to “Blinding Lights.” It ends with The Weeknd himself pulling up to a toll gate, much to the surprise of the employee in the booth. Variety notes this is “the first time the musician at the center of the [halftime show] has taken part in a Pepsi ad campaign in advance of the effort.”
Meanwhile, Pepsi also revealed that they have decided to not air any ads for their flagship drink during the big game this year (that’s not to say that other PepsiCo brands like Gatorade and Doritos won’t have a commercial presence).
Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s vice president of marketing, told Variety, “We are going to double down on our existing 12 minutes in the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show in the middle of the Super Bowl, and we are going to build it out like we have never built it out before.” He said that while Super Bowl advertisers “are talking and fighting for 30 seconds” of attention, Pepsi wants “to focus our efforts on making [the halftime show] a critical moment for the brand.” Kaplan also said of the game and halftime show, “There is a desire for a bit of escapism and surface-level entertainment, not being constantly reminded [of the pandemic]. We think that’s the role that sports and music play for us, providing that sense of normalcy.”
Check out the new ad above.
Artist Spotlight
Lisa Boostani creates a mesmerizing tidal realm in “Ocean”
Lisa Boostani’s “Ocean” takes you deep into a sensory world where body, spirit, and myth come together, beyond the surface of genre. Boostani makes a soundscape that is both ethereal and deeply human by combining the broad essence of psychedelic pop with the strong appeal of alternative rock.
Her voice rises as if it is coming from deep within her, shaped by emotion rather than action. She intentionally channels the intangible, turning weakness into strength rather than a source of pain, and “Ocean” tells people to get involved in this inner world, not just watch it. This release is an integral part of her first EP, “One,” which will come out in March 2026 and is based on love, sensuality, and unity.
If “Ocean” is any indication, the EP will show sensuality not as something pretty, but as a kind of spiritual intelligence, a way to know yourself by connecting with others. The song’s textures and structure have an aquatic quality, moving between clarity and delirium, rhythm and freedom. Its emotional focus is on immersion instead of resolution.
The striking quality of “Ocean” is the blend of the mystical worlds. Boostani understands that strength often shows up as gentleness and that deep feelings are better expressed through frequencies than words. She wants people to see consciousness as immediacy, sensation as truth, and openness as an undeniable strength.
Artist Spotlight
NOAH. captures the unspoken signals in enchanting R&B track “That’s Bless”
“That’s Bless” captures the unspoken late-night message, the smile that was exchanged from afar, and the feeling you sense but are afraid to say. NOAH. offers a song with a smoky R&B feel and lyrics that capture unspoken tension, firmly in the realm of emotional ambiguity, where connection is clear but not defined.
This piece concerns the subtle discomfort of mixed signals and quiet longings, when looks say more than words ever could. NOAH. handles the theme with restraint, letting the chemistry simmer rather than explode. NOAH.’s delivery shows a confident gentleness, recognizing that some feelings don’t need strict definitions to be real.
In “That’s Bless,” he captures the essence of connection and the compelling allure that endures, even when both parties pretend it is not there. The composition is based on real-life events, and it acknowledges that specific attachments endure in the heart long after one has persuaded oneself of having progressed.
“That’s Bless” is at the crossroads of closeness and distance, clarity and confusion. The song doesn’t resolve the tension it talks about, and that’s what makes it so powerful. It sums up the connection we say we don’t want but keep coming back to in memory, rhythm, and pulse.
Connect with NOAH. on Instagram
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